New York cops among 106 accused over 9/11 fraud

NEW YORK (AFP) - Prosecutors indicted 106 people on Tuesday, including former New York police officers and firefighters, over a "massive fraud" worth hundreds of millions of dollars, some in connection with the September 11 attacks.

The accused allegedly collected tens of thousands of dollars a year in social security benefits - funded by taxpayers - by claiming they were completely incapacitated by serious psychiatric disorders and other ailments.

"Many participants cynically manufactured claims of mental illness as a result of September 11, dishonoring the first responders who did serve their city at the expense of their own health and safety," Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said in a statement.

The four main defendants conspired to help or make hundreds of applicants falsely claim disabilities in order to collect benefit payments and public pensions, the indictment and court documents showed.